Before the Cryofreeze
by Kovy- Closet Romantic
Summary: Khan passed by all the attention he received from the woman of his crew, and wasn't interested in anything but being a captain. Until he met the much talked about helper of the crew, Niera. And now she'll be his, even if she doesn't know it yet.
1. Meeting the Captain

Disclaimer:I don't own Star Trek.

A/N: I have a couple Khan/OC's. This is the first one. Hope you enjoy it!

Neira had no rank. She had no fixed task among the crew of Botany Bay. She was a Jack-of-all-Trades. She would help in any way she could. Not that they would let a 17 year old do much. So most times she was used as an errand girl, or even a messenger. But she was perfectly fine with that. She wasn't on the bottom of the food chain, but she didn't have to deal with the higher ups very often. Or more so the First Officer. Who was Neira's older sister Keiren. The two of them hadn't gotten along since Keiren was reading bed time stories every night. Something about the pecking order. Not that Neira was listening when it was being explained. Higher rank or not, family is family. Keiren was being ridiculous.

As for the Captain... She'd never actually met him. Nor did she care if she did or didn't. Some of the woman on the ship would talk about how handsome he was, and how much they wished he would notice them. Neira on the other hand just wanted to make sure she didn't tick him off by screwing up. There wasn't much about her to notice anyway. Her long black hair was always in a high ponytail, with bangs that hang in her plain, conventional brown eyes. She wasn't tall, nor short at her height of 5'6". And she was slim with a nice muscle tone.

The one thing she knows would set her apart from the other woman is her fighting abilities. Her father had said she was a natural, therefore trained her harder than her sister and brother. Which brought up another question... How hell did Kieren make FO?! There are plenty of better fighters, with more brains too. It got Niera thinking that the Captain wasn't all that smart and great after all. But she would keep her opinion to herself, lest she be mauled by most of the crew, including her sister.

Her thought process was broken by two men arguing over something or other. Apparently, neither of them were small enough to reach a bolt that needed tightening. She scoffed, taking the wrench from the Chief and crawled through the hole. She fixed the problem with ease and then crawled back out. What she didn't expect is the two men had already called the the Captain to find the best possible solution, and he was standing above her, eyebrow raised. They just stared at each other for a moment, before he reached out his hand to help her up. She took it with a stoic look on her face, trying to hide her panic. Oh boy... What would he say? That she was reckless? That she was stupid and should have waited the 'adults' to fix the problem? She stood waiting for him to berate and belittle her as most did. But that was the exact opposite of what he had in mind apparently. (Hounyflake, apparently. A DEDICATION TO ANYONE WHO CAN TELL ME WHERE THE QUOTE CAME FROM.)

"You did well. Better than the one in charge in fact... What is your name?" She was shocked but steeled herself.

"Niera sir." Khan smirked.

"Ah, yes. I've heard of you. You're my First Officer's younger sister, are you not?" Niera grimaced at that.

"You would be correct sir." She replied curtly. She was sick of being recognized for her sister. That idiot didn't deserve the position she now held. The Captain watched her for a moment. Why, she had no idea.

"Well, it was nice meeting you Captain, but I have things I must see to." She said, putting the wrench down and turning to walk away. She got a few feet away when he spoke again.

"I will be keeping a close eye on you Niera. Make no mistake about that." She felt a shiver run down her spine, not knowing what he meant, but for some reason she liked it! She looked back at him and her breath caught in her throat when she saw him staring at her intensely. There was something about the way that he looked at her that made her heart skip a beat. She smiled at him slightly, before turning away and walking out.


	2. She is the Elf

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek. If I did, I would kidnap Khan while he is in his cryotube. That hotness is going to waste!

A/N: Glad that I got some favorites and follows. Hope to get some reviews this chapter. Pretty please with a cherry on top? Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter!

Khan watched Niera's hips sway back and forth as she walked away from him. She was different than he had expected. From what Kieren had said of her 'baby' sister, he had expected a slow witted, lazy, petulant child. Not a girl who thought faster than his Deck Chief, and seemed to help all over the ship. He then realized she was the one everyone talked about. She was referred to as the Elf around the ship, due to the fact that she helped everyone like one of Santa's loyal elves. She was a very determined Augment, and other than her sister, he heard nothing but good things about her. Even her older brother, Dierve said that he would trust her with his life. His First Officers words were looking like jealousy more and more. As for Niera, she was actually rather pretty. Another thing he wasn't expecting. Not only based on her sisters words, but he never figured that a girl who would do all manner of work would be pretty. In any sense of the word. And from what her brother said, who is one of his pilots, said she was a excellent fighter. One of the best he had ever seen. She would prove to be very formidable woman as she got older. He smirked to himself, and turned to walk away toward his office.

There was a knock on Khan's office door. "Enter." The door opened to reveal Niera. Definitely not what he was expecting. He smiled none the less as she slowly walked into the room. "And to what do I owe the pleasure, Niera?" The girl smirked holding up a tablet.

"Just making a delivery for the Head Doc. He said you need to sign these to authorize some treatment or other. And that I had to stay till you did and then take back to him." She said, walking to the side of his desk holding the tablet out for him to take. He took the tablet and pretended to read the text while watching her mess with random objects around his office. She finally stopped at his bookshelf and looked at some of the titles. She gasped slightly, catching his attention. She held up one of his books and looked in his direction.

"You have Stephen King books?! Awesome!" She said, looking at the books and stroking their spines almost lovingly. Khan chuckled.

"Yes. I found that I liked a few of them, and decided to find them all. Have you read them?" He asked, turning his chair toward her. She smiled at him.

"Just The Stand. And it's one of my favorite books. Have you read them all yet, sir?" Khan shook his head slowly.

"Not all of them. I liked the few that I read, and decided to look for them all. You borrow one if you like." He said before turning back to the tablet on his desk. She beamed at him, but stayed silent and looked for one she wanted to read as he actually read the info on the tablet.

After a few minutes he signed it and held it out for her to take. She saluted him lazily, before walking toward the door.

"Have a nice day Captain." She called, exiting out the door, shutting it behind her before he could get a word in edgewise. Khan stared at the door blankly for a moment. Yes, Niera was definitely not what he had expected.


End file.
